Friday, January 14, 2022

Happy Thai Pongal 2022

Pongal or Thai Pongal, is a Tamil festival that is celebrated in the month of Thai and usually falls on January 14 (January 15 on leap years). Despite being lesser known and is often overshadowed by Thaipusam that occurs several days later, nevertheless it is an important festival to the Tamils as it celebrates Uttarayan, or the movement of the sun shifting back north after the end of its southward journey into the Tropic of Capricorn, thus marking the end of winter. Now you will say, hey this sounds like the Winter Solstice in December that is celebrated in many cultures, but why is it in January and not in December?
 
Overflowing pongal pot
The pot of milk, rice and jaggery that is being boiled overflowing and accompanied by shouts
of Pongalo Pongal during Thai Pongal festival.

Well you are right, it is the Tamil/Hindu equivalent of the Northern hemisphere Winter Solstice but the reason for the date discrepancy is because Tamil/Hindu calendar and astrology are based on sidereal precession instead of tropical precession like the Western and Chinese calendar/astrology. Due to the precession of the Earth on its axis, the date when the Sun enters Tropic of Capricorn is seen by us today to be happening in Dec (usually Dec 21) instead of January. In 26000 years time from the start of the Tamil/Hindu sidereal calendar, then Winter Solstice will coincide with Thai Pongal again in January as the Earth makes a complete cycle wobbling on its axis.

This festival is also celebrated in the northern parts of India as Makar Sankrati, in West Bengal as Poush Sankrati or Maghe Sankrati in Nepal; and as well as wherever the Indian diaspora can be found. In Malaysia, where the local Indian communities whom are mostly Tamils, celebrate Thai Pongal with great fervour despite it being not a public holiday.

The day before Pongal is called Bhogi Pandigal (Bhogi or Pogi in short), and it is a day to get rid of old stuff and set it on fire, symbolically getting rid of the old and starting anew. On the day of Pongal, Tamil families would first set up a tripod of three sugarcane sticks, and beneath it a new, colourful earthenware pot (pongapani) wrapped with a stalk of turmeric plant (leaves, stem and a bit of the root; some people wrap it when the cooking is almost done as to prevent it from being completely burnt), is used to boil rice with jaggery and milk, then topped with spices, nuts and dried fruits (eg. cardamom, cinnamon, cashews and raisins) and are allowed to boil over and the liquid bubble out of the pot.

Setting up the pot for making sakkarai pongal
Setting up the pot for cooking.

Adding rice etc into the pot for making sakkarai pongal
Adding rice to the mixture.

The pot boils over with shouts of Pongalo pongal!
Pongalo pongal!

When that happens it is customary to shout Pongalo Pongal to usher in auspiciousness for the new year. Once the cooking is done, the resulting sweet rice dish (called sakkarai pongal - literally sweet pongal) is then offered as prasadam to the Sun God (Surya) and other deities first and later consumed by family members.

Saturday, January 01, 2022

Happy New Year 2022

LED lamps with Happy New Year greeting
So here's a toast to 2022 and hoping for the best, despite the fact that the new year didn't quite come with a bang, but more like a slow glow of an LED lamp.

I guess we just have got to keep looking on the bright side...

To my friends and readers, the next major festival update would be Thaipusam, which falls on January 18 this year. So stay tuned!

Friday, December 24, 2021

Wishing all a Merry Christmas!

Wishing all a Merry Christmas from Kuala Lumpur and looking forward to a better 2022!

KLCC 100ft tall Christmas tree
The tallest Christmas tree in Malaysia at KLCC Suria (100ft tall) and is covered with over
7000 colourful baubles).

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Happy Winter Solstice 2021

Today is the Winter Solstice and for Chinese people it is celebrated as as Dong Zhi (冬至), which when translated literally means Winter's Extreme as it marks the longest night of the year.

On this day, Southern Chinese families and their diaspora will usually get together and consume coloured glutinous rice balls which symbolizes reunion and a new beginning. The glutinous rice balls are also offered to ancestors and deities that are worshiped at home. On the other hand, Northern Chinese would typically consume dumplings instead as the festival food on this day.

So have a Happy Winter Solstice Festival!


Sunday, December 19, 2021

Kuda Kepang - The Dance of Two Realms

kuda lumping
Kuda kepang, a traditional Javanese dance, is also commonly performed by the Javanese diaspora in South East Asia. In Malaysia this traditional performance is kept alive in areas of Southern Johor, where a large number of people of Javanese descent resides.

Whilst this dance can be merely a performance, in its original form it often incorporates elements of trance which is said to be caused by invited spirit possession. However with the rise of Islamization in the region, the trance portion is often left out as it is deemed un-Islamic. Hence to witness a kuda kepang performance incorporating the trance element here in Malaysia is very much a novelty and a treat.


We were lucky in KL that last night, Pusaka in collaboration with Seni Lab and 33.3studio brought Kumpulan Kuda Kepang Parit Raja Johor to Black Box, Publika in an exciting and eclectic traditional kuda kepang performance with light show and music called Cahaya 004 - Kitab Basah, and yes it was with trance as well.

The moment the dancers goes into trance, their movements seemed to take on an unearthly vibe and exudes that sublime other realm feel to the performance. It is as if something from the other side touched the entire performance and everyone in it, and for that short time, the two realms, physical and the unseen, were connected through the dancers and their movements.

It was an enthralling and a different experience that cannot be adequately described in words or by photos, and is definitely a performance that everyone should at least experience once in their lifetime for themselves.

Friday, November 19, 2021

Of Lights and Water... the Loy Krathong Festival

The Loy Krathong festival, which falls on Friday this year (19 November 2021) is one of the most picturesque festivals that is celebrated in Thailand and also by the larger Thai communities in other countries including those in certain areas of Malaysia.

This festival has its roots as a Brahminical festival to honour the Goddess Ganga (Phra Mae Khongkha - พระแม่คงคา), and is celebrated on the full moon night of the twelfth month of the Thai calendar, which usually falls within the month of November in the Gregorian calendar.

The festival also coincide with the Lanna (Northern Thailand) festival of Yi Peng, where they release sky lanterns (basically identical to the Chinese Kung Ming lantern), and is now celebrated as one amalgamated festival in Northern Thailand.

Whilst Thailand is celebrating the festival on a big scale as they have started to reopen to tourist post Covid-19 pandemic, the same can't be said for Malaysia; where it would not be publicly celebrated by the Thai communities in Klang Valley and in Penang this year due to concerns of the pandemic.

So in this post are a few pictures from the festival in Penang (at Gurney Drive) taken in 2014, and hoping that the festival will make a comeback here in Malaysia next year. Happy Loy Krathong!

Krathong decorated with banana leaves and flowers
Flower Power... Krathong with lovely flowers

Lighting up the krathong
Lighting up the krathongs...

Making a wish before setting off the krathong
Say a little prayer for you...

Letting off krathong at Gurney Drive
Let it go, let it go...

Monday, October 11, 2021

The North Star Deity (北斗星君) arrives at Sekinchan Nine Emperor Gods Temple

As part of the series of ceremonies and divine invitations that occur during the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, the Nan Tian Gong Nine Emperor Gods temple of Sekinchan (适耕庄南天宫九皇大帝) invited the North Star deity (北斗星君) yesterday on the 5th day of the festival.

Whilst the South Star deity (南斗星君) is believed to be in charge of matters regarding your well-being and living quality in this life, the North Star deity is in charge of the death (ie. lifespan) of a person, and therefore prayers are often offered to the North Star deity to prolong one's lifespan.
 
Temple entourage walking to the North Star deity invitation site

The invitation ceremony of the North Star deity carried out by Sekinchan Nine Emperor Gods temple yesterday was somewhat similar to the South Star deity invitation ceremony on the 2nd day of the festival (click to read in new tab), with the exception that it was more festive this time around, having a pair of lions performing the lion dance and escorted the entourage for the invite, plus we headed north of the temple this time to a spot located somewhere in the agricultural fields for the invitation. Also, as the site was quite close by, the temple entourage walked to the site which took us about 10 mins to get there.

Lions and sedan chair arrive at the invitation site

Setting up the invitation altar for the North Star

Going for a spin - sedan chair with deity being spun over firecrackers

Offering joss paper at the lantern pole


The schedule of invitation ceremonies at Sekinchan are as follows:
  • 5th Oct 2021 (eve of festival) 10.15pm - Invitation of the Nine Emperor Gods
  • 7th Oct 2021 (2nd day) 10.15pm - Invitation of the South Star Deity
  • 10th Oct 2021 (5th day) 10.15pm - Invitation of the North Star Deity
  • 12th Oct 2021 (7th day) 8.45pm - Invitation of Jade Emperor
  • 13th Oct 2021 (8th day) 10.15pm - Invitation of Dou Mu
 

Thursday, October 07, 2021

Sekinchan Nine Emperor Gods Festival - Invitation Ceremony for the South Star Deity on Day 2

On the night of the 2nd day of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, the Sekinchan Nine Emperor Gods temple (适耕庄南天宫九皇大帝) invited the South Star deity (南斗星君) back to their temple. Even though it was a simple ceremony without any elaborate procession or fanfare, one can sense the intense religious fervor that pervaded the ceremony emanating from the temple members and mediums in trance who were tasked with carrying it out.

Coming back from the inviting the South Star Deity on 2ns Day of Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021

The ceremony starts (as usual) with the mediums going into trance to the beat of the gongs and hand drums. This is then followed by the royal parasol, the sedan chairs and the temple entourage leaving for a selected location to do the invitation.

Sekinchan Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021 Day 2 South Star invitation

Coming back from the invitation ceremony

medium in trance

Upon return back to the temple, the entourage were greeted with lit firecrackers and the sedan chairs were then paraded around the temple altar table whilst being rocked hard before being placed back to their respective places in the temple after the deities on board have been let in into the temple's inner chamber. After that mediums who are still in trance attended to the various needs of the devotees.

This year, the Sekinchan Nine Emperor Gods temple is one of the few Nine Emperor Gods temple in Klang Valley whose prayers and ceremonies are open to the public whom have been fully vaccinated, and I believe it is also the only one in Klang Valley that did raise the lantern flagpole for this year's Nine Emperor Gods Festival which is accessible to the public at large.


Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021... A Celebration Behind Closed Doors

Today is the second day of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, and as expected, it was quiet but still smoky at Ampang Nine Emperor Gods temple. Other than the numerous dragon joss-sticks burning away inside the temple grounds, it actually feels more like a non-celebration, being rather calm and without the usual endless stream of devotees coming and going throughout the day.



Sunday, October 03, 2021

A Low Key Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021 for Ampang

With it being two more days before the eve of the Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021, the Ampang Nine Emperor Gods temple (安邦南天宮) is unusually calm and quiet compared to pre-Covid times. The usual stream of people dropping off rice, oil and other foodstuff as donations and offerings were completely absent this year.
 
Quiet and empty Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Temple

 
However, there were more devotees present than in the previous week, probably making use of the weekend before the temple closes its doors for the festival to place donations and pay for coil incense to be lit on behalf of them during the festival by the temple staff. Outside, within the temple grounds, the dragon joss sticks were already up, and I was informed that more are coming on Monday. Towards the end of the day, more devotees turn up to offer their prayers in lieu of doing so during the festival as the temple will only allow their committee and limited number of members to attend the prayers during the festival to avoid any over crowding issues.
 
Dragon joss-sticks for Ampang Nine Emperor Gods Festival

Devotees praying to Ampang Nine Emperor Gods

 
The unusual calmness and lack of activity during this time of the year does feel pretty disturbing, especially if you are so used to the chaos and cacophony that is the hallmark of the temple gearing up for the Nine Emperor Gods Festival. So here's to a quiet and uneventful Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021.
 
Important Dates:
Eve of 2021 Nine Emperor Gods Festival: 5th October 2021 (Tuesday)
First Day of Nine Emperor Gods Festival: 6th October 2021 (Wednesday)
Ninth Day of Nine Emperor Gods Festival: 14th October 2021 (Thursday)

 

Thursday, September 30, 2021

Yet Another Year of Quiet Prayers behind Closed Doors - the Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2021

Nine Emperor Gods talisman covering urn

Yes it is almost time for Nine Emperor Gods Festival again, as it is just 6 more days before the festival begins. This year the festival begins on the 6th of October 2021 (1st day of the ninth lunar month) and ends on the 14th of October 2021 (ninth day of the lunar ninth month).
 
However, the festive atmosphere here in Malaysia is again missing this year as many temples here have either opted to hold simple ceremonies or to make the prayers a private affair only for the temple committee and senior members.

In fact almost all of the famous Nine Emperor Gods temples in Klang Valley are holding the prayers behind closed doors, for example Ampang Nan Tian Gong temple, Jinjang Bei Tian Gong temple, and Sg.Way Leng Eng Tian temple; the main reason being to prevent large crowds of devotees from thronging these temples, thus making adherence to Covid-19 SOP difficult.
 
Hopefully next year we will see some semblance of normality for such festivals, although returning to the way this festival were celebrated before Covid-19 does seems impossible for now.
 

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival 2021

It is again the Mid-Autumn Festival or better known as the Mooncake Festival. The mooncake shown here is a type of mooncake known as 公仔饼 (doll biscuit) or 猪笼饼 (pig basket biscuit). Traditionally, this biscuit is placed unwrapped in miniature bamboo and later plastic baskets that resembles the cages that pigs were transported in (hence piggy biscuit). Nowadays as to comply with food hygiene requirements, they are individually wrapped in plastic wrapper before being stuffed into the plastic cage.
 
公仔饼 piggy mooncake mooncake festival
 
This type of mooncake biscuit is basically made with the dough for the skin of the traditional (Cantonese style) mooncakes, and is a good way to utilise all the excess dough instead of letting them go to waste. In the past, they are moulded into various shapes including a simple, elongated oval shape, as long as they can fit into the 'cage'. Nowadays they are almost always moulded to look like a cute miniature pig.

Traditionally, they are solid, with no filling whatsoever as the purpose of this mooncake was to make use of the excess dough; plus it also doubles up as a cheap gift for customers who bought a lot of expensive mooncakes. Nowadays, mooncake makers do make them with simple filling like lotus paste or red bean paste.

Even though it isn't as popular as other types of mooncakes, nevertheless the sight of these piggy biscuit mooncakes always reminded me of the way  the Mooncake Festival was celebrated when I was young.

 

Monday, September 06, 2021

Another year of quiet Hungry Ghost Festival

Da Shi Yeh (King of hades) being burnt during Hungry Ghost Festival
As the Hungry Ghost Festival this year comes to a close, it has been another year of low key celebrations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
No large makeshift altars were allowed here this year. Instead, people are only allowed to do prayers in temples and also private offerings outside their homes.
 
And as we reminisce upon the festive celebrations of previous years, we hope that perhaps next year we will start to see some of these traditional festivities return to normal.

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Comtemplation in the Market...

A fresh seafood seller seemed to be deep in thought whilst waiting for customers to come by at Psar Chas in Siem Reap, Cambodia. This photo was taken in 2015... and with the current pandemic, I too sometimes wonder if we can ever be the same again like in pre-Covid times.

A seller at Psar Chas, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Interestingly, the word for market in Khmer is Psar... which is probably a derivative from Champa or the Malay word Pasar, which came from the Persian word Bazar. The influence of East - West trade on the word usage for market is indeed interesting.

Monday, March 22, 2021

Memories of Jogja Istimewa -The Endog Abang Lady

A rather unique festival celebrated in Jogjakarta, Central Java is the Sekaten festival that usually last for a week, commemorating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. One of the features of this festival is the abundance of ladies selling red eggs on skewers decorated with bits of paper known as Endog Abang (in Javanese endog is egg and abang is red - literally red egg).

Endog Abang (red egg) seller during Sekaten in Jogjakarta
The Endog Abang seller...
 
This photo of the lady selling Endog Abang was taken just outside one of the entrance to the Jogjakarta Palace during the 2015 Sekaten celebration. Whenever she sells a few Endog Abang, she will then proceed to make a few more from her supplies of red eggs stored in the woven basket in front of her.


Saturday, February 20, 2021

Happy Hokkien New Year - Jade Emperor's Birthday

The Jade Emperor's Birthday falls on the 9th day of the Lunar New Year and for the Hokkien community it is regarded as their New Year. This year it falls on the 20th of February 2021 and in places where there are a large number of Hokkiens eg. Penang, this is usually a bigger and grander celebration than the first day of the Lunar New Year!
 
Usually families will prepare an altar for worshiping the Jade Emperor on the night of the eve of the festival (night of the 8th day of Lunar New Year) and when midnight comes, the prayers and festivities will commence, together with setting off fireworks and firecrackers to usher in their new year.

Praying to Jade Emperor
Devotees praying to the Jade Emperor inside the main
shrine of the Jade Emperor Temple in Air Itam, Penang.

For those that have neither the space nor the convenience to do the prayers at their place of residence, they would usually go to temples or to communal altars set up by the local community to worship the Jade Emperor together. In Penang, the Chew Jetty is one of those famous places where the communal worship of Jade Emperor on his birthday is practiced.

Alas, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, public celebrations have been cancelled this year and people can only do small scale prayers at home. Hence it was a pretty muted affair this year. Hopefully next year the festival will be back to being celebrated on a grand scale.

Happy Hokkien New Year!!

Friday, February 12, 2021

The 'Niu' Year...

Today is he 1st day of the Lunar New Year, and even though the Year of the Metal Ox had officially started on Li Chun (Beginning of Spring - 3rd Feb in 2021), many still associate the Lunar New with the change of the animal horoscope and hence assume that the year of the Metal Ox has just begun - which is a misconception.
 
Since we are not allowed to travel about and there are no temple fairs to shoot, nor are there any open houses or lion dances happening in KL this year, I have resorted to shooting household stuff related to Chinese New Year, which resulted in this 'Niu' Year (牛 - the Ox) image that can be used as an e-greeting image. Have a Happy Chinese 'Niu' Year!

Happy Chinese New Year - Year of the Ox greeting #niuyear


Thursday, February 11, 2021

Wishing All A Healthy and Happy Chinese New Year 2021

Wishing all my readers a Happy Chinese New Year 2021. This year the lunar new year falls on 12th Feb 2021 and today being the eve of the Lunar New Year (除夕 - chú xī), it is customary for Chinese families to hold thanksgiving prayers today for their ancestors, and then followed by a family reunion dinner later in the evening before ushering in the new Lunar Year in a few hours time.

Unfortunately for us in Malaysia, this year's Chinese New Year celebration atmosphere is rather sombre as we are not allowed to travel across state or district and family reunion dinners are only allowed for family members within a 10km travel distance.

新年快乐, 身体健康, 万事如意!
Chinese New Year Lanterns and greetings - Happy Chinese New Year

In this difficult time of the Covid-19 pandemic, I would like wish everyone a good year ahead, stay safe and healthy always! Gong Xi Fa Cai!




Wednesday, February 03, 2021

Happy Li Chun (Beginning of Spring) 2021

Happy Li Chun 2021

Happy Li Chun to all... Li Chun (立春) or known as Beginning of Spring is a Chinese calendar solar term, and marks the beginning of a new Chinese zodiac year. Being a solar term, it has a fixed date in the Gregorian calendar, and usually falls on Feb 4 (plus or minus one day) - this year it falls on Feb 3rd at 10:58:39 pm and marks the start of the year of the Metal Ox (辛丑).
 
Chinese New Year is of course coming up, being only 8 days away. As this year's Chinese New Year (which is calculated based on a lunisolar system) begins after this year's Li Chun and ends before the following year's Li Chun, it is considered a 'Double Blind Year' as it does not meet with Li Chun either in the beginning or at the end. Traditionally a double blind lunisolar year is considered inauspicious for certain activity like marriage.

Thursday, January 28, 2021

Thaipusam 2021... Looking Back on Past Celebrations

A blessed Thaipusam to all, and even though we cannot personally attend the festival in Malaysia this year due to Covid-19 lock-down, we can always look back at happy memories of Thaipusam celebrations in the past and hopefully next year we all can join in the festivities once more.

Bathing the Vel at Sungai Batu River during Thaipusam
Bathing of the Vel at Sg, Batu river during Thaipusam... (Thirthochava Ceremony)

The deities and the Vel being transported to the river bank for the bathing of the Vel

Bathing the Vel

The journey home - Thaipusam silver chariot